The Yongle Encyclopedia was like an everlasting monument, recording the ambition and broad mind of Ming Empire in culture under the reign of Emperor Yongle. Meanwhile, a program of political ambition that seemed like a daydream was being carried out. A ship fleet sent by the Ming Empire would travel across the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean, braving savage waves to reach mysterious distant lands. In a sense, globalization has started as early as from Yuan Dynasty. The world suddenly became much larger in Chinese people's eyes. Moreover, with Chinese expeditions the world known to Chinese was rapidly growing bigger and bigger. Ming Cheng Zu Zhu Di sensitively foresaw that the world was integrating and that the barrier of ocean was disappearing. Zheng He's voyages not only brought the profound Oriental Chinese culture to the rest parts of the world, but also enabled Chinese to know about the entire whole world. It is safe to say that Zhu Di was the sole emperor in the world at that time possessing such great ambition. Besides, he was very lucky to have a talented and competent admiral--Zheng He. Then, what enabled Zheng He to work the whims of the emperor into an amazing miracle?
Zheng He (1371-1433), the Chinese Admiral
Through his seven voyages of discovery to the West, Zheng He helped transform China into the superpower of his time.
Little did the famous Muslim geographer, Ibn Battuta know, that about 22 years after his historic visit to China, the Mongol Dynasty (called the Yuan Dynasty in China) would be overthrown. The Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) would begin. A boy would help a Chinese prince. That prince would become emperor and the boy would grow up to be the "Admiral of the Chinese Fleet."
His name... Zheng He. The ships that he would sail throughout the Indian Ocean would retrace some of the same routes taken by Ibn Battuta, but he would be in huge boats called "junks". He would go to East Africa, Makkah, Persian Gulf, and throughout the Indian Ocean.
Speak of the world's first navigators and the names Christopher Columbus or Vasco da Gama flash through a Western mind. Little known are the remarkable feats that a Chinese Muslim Zheng He (1371-1433) had accomplished decades before the two European adventurers.
The Foundation for Science Technology and Civilisation retraces the route of China’s 15th century admiral, Zheng He, who ranks as perhaps the country’s foremost adventurer. As a warrior, Zheng He helped transform China into the region’s, and perhaps the world’s, superpower of his time.
In 1405, Zheng was chosen to lead the biggest naval expedition in history up to that time. Over the next 28 years (1405-1433), he commanded seven fleets that visited 37 countries, through Southeast Asia to faraway Africa and Arabia. In those years, China had by far the biggest ships of the time. In 1420 the Ming navy dwarfed the combined navies of Europe.
Ma He, as he was originally known, was born in 1371 to a poor ethnic Hui (Chinese Muslims) family inYunnan Province, Southwest China. The boy's grandfather and father once made an overland pilgrimage to Makkah. Their travels contributed much to young Ma's education. He grew up speaking Arabic and Chinese, leaming much about the world to the west and its geography and customs.
Recruited as a promising servant for the Imperial household at the age of ten, Ma was assigned two years later to the retinue of the then Duke Yan, who would later usurp the throne as the emperor Yong Le. Ma accompanied the Duke on a series of successful military campaigns and played a crucial role in the capture of Nanjing, then the capital. Ma was thus awarded the supreme command of the Imperial Household Agency and was given the surname Zheng.
Emperor Yong Le tried to boost his damaged prestige as a usurper by a display of China's might abroad, sending spectacular fleets on great voyages and by bringing foreign ambassadors to his court. He also put foreign trade under a strict Imperial monopoly by taking control from overseas Chinese merchants. Command of the fleet was given to his favorite Zheng He, an impressive figure said to be over eight feet tall.
A great fleet of big ships, with nine masts and manned by 500 men, each set sail in July 1405, half a century before Columbus's voyage to America. There were great treasure ships over 300-feet long and 150-feet wide, the biggest being 440-feet long and 186-across, capable of carrying 1,000 passengers. Most of the ships were built at the Dragon Bay shipyard near Nanjing, the remains of which can still be seen today.
Zheng He's first fleet included 27,870 men on 317 ships, including sailors, clerks, interpreters, soldiers, artisans, medical men and meteorologists. On board were large quantities of cargo including silk goods, porcelain, gold and silverware, copper utensils, iron implements and cotton goods. The fleet sailed along China's coast to Champa close to Vietnam and, after crossing the South China Sea, visited Java, Sumatra and reached Sri Lanka by passing through the Strait of Malacca. On the way back it sailed along the west coast of India and returned home in 1407. Envoys from Calicut in India and several countries in Asia and the Middle East also boarded the ships to pay visits to China. Zheng He's second and third voyages taken shortly after, followed roughly the same route.
In the fall of 1413, Zheng He set out with 30,000 men to Arabia on his fourth and most ambitious voyage. From Hormuz he coasted around the Arabian boot to Aden at the mouth of the Red Sea. The arrival of the fleet caused a sensation in the region, and 19 countries sent ambassadors to board Zheng He's ships with gifts for Emperor Yong Le.
In 1417, after two years in Nanjing and touring other cities, the foreign envoys were escorted home by Zheng He. On this trip, he sailed down the east coast of Africa, stopping at Mogadishu, Matindi, Mombassa and Zanzibar and may have reached Mozambique. The sixth voyage in 1421 also went to the African coast.
Emperor Yong Le died in 1424 shortly after Zheng He's return. Yet, in 1430 the admiral was sent on a final seventh voyage. Now 60 years old, Zheng He revisited the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and Africa and died on his way back in 1433 in India.
Zheng He's flag "treasure ship" was four hundred feet long - much larger than Columbus's. In this drawing, the two flagships are superimposed to give a clear idea of the relative size of these two ships. Columbus's ship St. Maria was only 85 feet long whilst Zheng He's flag ship was an astonishing 400 feet.
Imagine six centuries ago, a mighty armada of Zheng He's ships crossing the China Sea, then venturing west to Ceylon, Arabia, and East Africa. The fleet consisting of giant nine-masted junks, escorted by dozens of supply ships, water tankers, transports for cavalry horses, and patrol boats. The armada's crew totaling more than 27,000 sailors and soldiers.
Loaded with Chinese silk and porcelain, the junks visited ports around the Indian Ocean. Here, Arab and African merchants exchanged the spices, ivory, medicines, rare woods, and pearls so eagerly sought by the Chinese imperial court.
Seven times, from 1405 to 1433, the treasure fleets set off for the unknown. These seven great expeditions brought a vast web of trading links -- from Taiwan to the Persian Gulf -- under Zheng He's imperial control. This took place half a century before the first Europeans, rounding the tip of Africa in frail Portuguese caravels, 'discovered' the Indian Ocean.
Zheng He (1371-1433), or Cheng Ho, is arguably China's most famous navigator. Starting from the beginning of the 15th Century, he traveled to the West seven times. For 28 years, he traveled more than 50,000 km and visited over 37 countries, including Singapore. Zheng He died in the tenth year of the reign of the Ming emperor Xuande (1433) and was buried in the southern outskirts of Bull's Head Hill (Niushou) in Nanjing.
In 1983, during the 580th anniversary of Zheng He's voyage, his tomb was restored. The new tomb was built on the site of the original tomb and reconstructed according to the customs of Islamic teachings.
At the entrance to the tomb is a Ming-style structure, which houses the memorial hall. Inside are paintings of the man himself and his navigation maps. To get to the tomb, there are newly laid stone platforms and steps. The stairway consists of 28 stone steps divided into four sections with each section having seven steps. This represents Zheng He's seven journeys to the West. Inscribed on top of the tomb are the Arabic words "Allahu Akbar (God is Great)".
第一集 Part I
15世纪初，中国建造了当时世界上最大的海船，开创了前所未有的大航海时代，将中华民族的文明传播到亚非30多个国家，完成这一伟大创造的人，是明朝的郑和，站在他身后的是永乐皇帝朱棣。
1433年,正当郑和率领船队七下西洋完成之时,反对者借机捣乱。郑和不甘认命，想在有生之年再现先帝朱棣的宏愿。但当朝皇帝朱瞻基也下旨让船队返航。
时光倒回郑和的少年时代。
1381年，铁平将军奉洪武皇帝之令，从云南、贵州、广西等地遴选农家少年进宫为太监。少年马和被抓，企图逃生，未获成功，且遭车拖惩罚。
漠北，年青的燕王朱棣率兵征讨前元残部，把对手打得落花流水。为保持边疆和平，朱棣单枪匹马来到敌军阵前，晓之以情，动之以礼，不战而屈人之兵，说服太尉阿里不花归降明朝。这时，报信人送来消息，其母马皇后病故。
马和大难不死，被阉割成太监。
在马皇后的灵堂前，当朝红人方孝孺、齐泰质问朱棣，为何远在漠北，却如此之快来到南京。奇僧道衍（姚广孝）机敏相助，帮助朱棣摆脱了困境。
马和与小伙伴们被带到南京，第一次来到了天下最壮丽的地方，也是人间最可怕的皇宫。
京师风云激荡，令燕王朱棣分外小心翼翼。不过，他还是私下见了道衍，两人不欢而散。
第二集Part II
朱棣按捺不住，又派心腹南轩公、张玉寻找姚广孝。
皇上赏赐燕王遴选来的小太监，燕王妃惟独看中了少年老成，宠辱不惊的少年马和。
姚广孝与朱棣见面，两个胸怀天下的英雄惺惺相惜。朱棣守边北平，豪气万丈，更对海禁等国策持不同看法。这让姚广孝慧眼识英雄，他甘愿出山相助。
徐王妃回到北平燕王府，马和以其聪明机智一眼被朱棣看上，从此留在身边。
为节制朱棣，皇上派胡诚到北平任布政使。朱棣对父皇与太子党的用心难以猜测。
南轩公教王子朱高炽、朱高煦识天相。两位王子都心不在焉，侍立一旁的马和反倒专心致志地听南轩公讲述星座知识。
姚广孝来到北平，即成为朱棣的军师。今天，朱棣到玉明寺拜见和尚，坦诚对新来的布政使有疑，而姚广孝倒认为这是福不是祸。
朱棣听从姚广孝的计谋，采取宽容的做法，竭力保护部属不受“胡惟庸、兰玉”两案的牵连，顺手将那些桀骜不逊的将领们收归旗下。
正当燕王为受到皇上的嘉赏而高兴之时，又传来圣旨，要将其属下南轩公调京，另有任用。朱棣知晓这是东宫出的主意，要挖他的能人。
二王子朱高煦想教训胡诚惹出大祸，反而嫁祸马和。徐王妃调查事情的来龙去脉后，利用此机会整顿家风。马和勇于冒死救主，忠心不二的精神，得到朱棣与徐王妃的奖赏。
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